Kathleen O’Loughlin is Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the American Dental Association. She previously served as Chief Dental Officer and Vice President for Quality and Care Management of United Health Group in Columbia, Maryland and as a consultant to higher education in the health professions and the health care industry. From 2001 to 2007, she was President and CEO of Delta Dental of Massachusetts, a nonprofit dental insurance provider. Under her leadership, Delta Dental achieved the position of the fifth-largest plan in the national network of Delta Dental insurers, generating annual premium revenues of $700 million and covering two million members.
Prior to joining Delta Dental, Kathy conducted a twenty-year private practice in general dentistry in Medford, Massachusetts. She began her education with a year of nurse’s training at Massachusetts General Hospital before earning a B.A. in Biology from Boston University in 1973. This was followed by a year at Suffolk University to earn a teaching certificate and a year at Northeastern University studying biochemistry. In 1978, she enrolled in the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, graduating in 1981 summa cum laude with a D.M.D. She missed her graduation because she gave birth to her first child during commencement. In 1998, Kathy earned a Masters in Public Health and Health Care Management from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Since her appointment in 1996 as Assistant Clinical Professor at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Kathy has actively volunteered her teaching services in the department of General Dentistry. She served as course director for an introductory course for four years, and as Co-Chair of an Executive Faculty committee. She also served as clinical instructor at Boston University Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry for eight years.
Kathy is a member of the American College of Dentists, and Editor of their New England Section. Other memberships include the American Dental Association, the International College of Dentists, the Pierre Fouchard Academy, the American Association of Women Dentists, and Omicron Kappa Upsilon. She is a board member of the Forsyth Institute, Children’s Dental Health Project, Oral Health America, and a member of the Board of Visitors of Boston University School of Dental Medicine. A recipient of numerous awards and honors for teaching, alumni service, professional service, and academic excellence, she is a regular presenter at the Yankee Dental Congress, the fifth largest dental meeting in the U.S., which is held annually in Boston, and has served as program chairperson for three conferences. She has published several important papers in professional journals.
A past president of the Tufts Dental Association, Kathy was elected to the Tufts University Board of Trustees in 2006. She and her husband Stephen are the parents of four children: Stephen III, Anthony, Brittany, and Leanna.
Last updated: May 2009
